“The Government of Nepal on Monday published a notice in this regard in Nepal Gazette,” a press release by MWFC stated on Wednesday.[break]
The new minimum wages is reviewed according to Clause 11 of the Working Journalists Act.
After the review, the minimum wage of the full time journalists in national media is now Rs. 10,008 per month whereas other working employees of the national media should be paid at least Rs. 7,367 a month.
Earlier, the minimum wage of working journalists was fixed at Rs. 5,200 regardless of which type of media they were employed in.
Similarly, the minimum wage of working journalists and employees in other media houses, where it’s not necessary to full implement the Act, is fixed at Rs. 7,228 and Rs. 6,405 respectively.
The minimum payment of news sent by part-time journalists/stringers has also been fixed. The minimum that a national level radio and newspaper can pay for a news item is fixed at Rs. 125 and Rs 150 respectively. For a news item, television stations should pay a minimum of Rs 400 per news, the release added.
“The Committee appreciates the ministry’s decision to review the minimum wages of journalists and urge all stakeholders to fully implement it,” the release by committee chairman Govinda Acharya said.
The MWFC also informed that it’s working with Press Council of Nepal, Department of Communication and Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) for joint follow-up of study of implementation of the Act and holding regional seminars.
FNJ cautiously welcomes decision
The Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) has cautiously welcomed the government decision to increase the minimum wages of working journalists.
"The government was forced to take the decision due to continues pressure from FNJ," a release by FNJ general secretary Om Sharma stated. "However, the minimum amount is not enough to fulfill the basic needs of the journalists due to high prices of commodities."
"Thus FNJ urges the government to review the minimum amount considering the commodity prices and basic needs," it further said.
FNJ has also urged all media houses to immediately begin adjusting wages of working journalists according to the government decision.
Related story
Minimum wages to journalists to be implemented: chair Aryal
